Morning Brief: Thursday, February 9, 2017

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We begin with Trudeau’s travels (not of the billionaire kind): Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is headed for Europe next week to talk trade, security and international cooperation. He will touch down in Germany to visit with German Chancellor Angela Merkel – part of a four-day European tour that also includes a visit to Strasbourg, France, where Trudeau will address the European Parliament. Today Trudeau is in Iqaluit, flanked by a number of ministers, to meet with Nunavut Premier Peter Taptuna.

Seven cabinet ministers – comically including the finance minister – and nearly a dozen Liberal MPs, donated more money to the Liberal party last year than is allowed by Elections Canada, according to an iPolitics analysis of fundraising data. The Liberals say the party is following the rules and is refunding the “inadvertent over-contributions.”

Conservative leadership hopeful Steven Blaney says he wants to dismantle First Nations reserves. He said on CBC’s Power and Politics that doing so would allow indigenous people to move on to become “fully Canadian.”

TheHill Times has the latest numbers on Phoenix processing: Public Works has a total of 290,000 unprocessed transactions – or about as many pay issues as there are federal employees paid through the Phoenix system.

B.C. politics continues to get more and more bizarre this week: Premier Christy Clark is walking back allegations she’s made that the provincial NDP hacked into her party’s website – a line that’s changed from “we saw them do it” to “they talked like they had, but who knows.” Although the Liberals say they have evidence their party website was hacked from an IP address originating from within the B.C. legislature. The NDP are demanding an apology.

Noteworthy – Quebec’s National Assembly has unanimously condemned a Washington Postcolumn written by conservative commentator JJ McCullough, who implied the Quebec City mosque attack happened because Quebec is more racist than the rest of Canada and Quebec nationalism seems to produce more “lunatics.” Carl Vallée, a former press secretary to Stephen Harper, also condemned the notion in a Post column of his own, accusing McCullough of “committing sociology.”

HERE & THERE

In Iqaluit, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Health Jane Philpott, Minister of Families Children and Social Development Jean-Yves Duclos and Parliamentary Secretary Yvonne Jones will meet with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. Later Trudeau will meet with the Premier of Nunavut, Peter Taptuna.

Representatives of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers meet with Judy Foote, minister responsible for Canada Post, to push for restoration of door-to-door delivery. CUPW representatives will be available for media interviews following the meeting.

Bijan Ahmadi, president of the Iranian Canadian Congress, appears at Senate foreign affairs committee hearing witnesses on Bill S-219, An Act to deter Iran-sponsored terrorism, incitement to hatred and human rights violations.

Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi appears at Commons committee to discuss the Canadian Infrastructure Bank and infrastructure and smart communities.

Public Service and Procurement Minister Judy Foote appears at Commons official language committee to discuss the Translation Bureau.

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley and Culture and Tourism Minister Ricardo Miranda make an announcement on future of sport promotion and development in Alberta. Later, Notley and Culture Minister Ricardo Miranda recognize Black History Month.

Alberta Environment Minister Shannon Phillips to announce recipients of a grant program short-term to the bioenergy industry.

Members of the federal government make an infrastructure announcement in Kamloops as part of 150th Anniversary celebrations.

BC NDP Leader John Horgan, BC Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver and Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation Minister John Rustad, representing the BC Liberals, will attend the First Nations Summit to discuss their respective political party Indigenous issues platforms with Chiefs and delegates.

Later today top U.S. airline execs are meeting with Trump – although they expect that even beyond his not-very-airport-friendly travel ban, he’ll likely be a disruptive influence on their business. They’re expected to talk mostly about ageing infrastructure, foreign competition and privatizing the air traffic control system.

The Senate has confirmed Jeff Sessions as the next U.S. attorney general after a battle with Democrats over his civil rights record. Meanwhile Trump’s pick for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tom Price, is one step closer to his confirmation now that the Senate has voted to limit debate on his nomination.

Let’s just face up to it once and for all: This country’s suffering from a bad case of scandal envy. American media outlets get a president with countless business conflicts and a tendency to blurt out every single race-baiting counterfactual that floats through his fevered brain. What do we get? Cocktails with billionaires.

The 1980s Kevin Bacon flick Footloose is striking a little too close to home for a small Oklahoma town. A Valentine’s Day dance has been cancelled because of an old city bylaw that prohibits dancing near churches. But the town of Henryetta can dance if its wants to: city councillors plan to finally change the law at a post-Valentine’s Day meeting.